WESTFIELD – A majority of downtown business owners have decided they aren’t getting what they pay for — or what they signed up for.

A petition submitted at the May 15 City Council meeting calls for the dissolution of the Westfield Business Improvement District, an organization promoting downtown improvement projects and supported by funds from property owners in the district.

Ted Cassell, president of Park Square Realty, is one of the people behind the petition, which requires a public hearing and vote by the City Council.

“In truth, I don’t think that the BID is accomplishing what its objectives were,” Cassell said.

The city’s looks have improved over the past few years, he said, but that’s been a combination of private investing and other factors — not just the BID. Cassell said most property owners don’t feel that they’re getting enough value from the district, despite the BID’s improvement efforts.

BID Executive Director Maureen Belliveau said the BID's efforts — including beautification, cleanup and business resources — have changed the direction for downtown Westfield, and without it improvement could stall.

"A lot of the things that people have grown accustomed to and enjoy would stop," she said.

Belliveau said that without the BID there would be no organization with the resources to pick up the pieces for improvement programs. The public work and behind-the-scenes efforts, such as grant program management, would end.

In three months, the petition received 90 signatures out of 157 property owners in the district. Some of the downtown property owners who didn’t sign include the city, banks and nonprofits, all of which would not be involved with a petition, Cassell said.

In addition to the lack of results from the BID, its fees are effectively additional taxes on a group of small business owners who are already struggling, Cassell said.

But support for the dissolution is not only due to fees and perceived value. When the BID was established in 2006, property owners weren’t signing on for the rules in place today.

When the BID was established, property owners in the district could opt out of the fee and choose not to be a member.

Fewer than 30 business owners opted out when the BID was established, but those owners still received some of the same benefits as members — they didn’t pay the fees, but they were still situated downtown.

“Originally I didn’t opt out because … I didn’t want to be seen as anti-Westfield,” Cassell said.

Cassell even served as a BID board member before losing faith in the organization after seeing it operate from the inside.

In August 2012, the Massachusetts Legislature amended the law governing BIDs, in part so that the phrase “elects to participate” was replaced with “participates.” Property owners in a district could no longer opt-out.

This applied to current members — including those who opted out of the district from the start — as well as future property owners.

Belliveau said she understands and sympathizes with property owner frustrations over the law changes. At the same time, however, mandatory participation aims to improve downtown as a whole, she said.

"You don't want a situation where there's a patch here that's taken care of, then a patch that's not," she said.

BIDs are required to hold a renewal vote every five years, at which time each must review its work and propose an updated improvement plan. All property owners in the district who attend the meeting then can cast a vote for whether or not to continue the BID.

Cassell said the first such vote, in 2012, excluded many property owners. Voters are required to be in “good standing” with the district, he said.

The public hearing will take place at the next City Council meeting, June 5, after which the council will vote on the issue.

Belliveau said the Board of Directors is now formulating a plan for the public hearing.

"I'm eternally optimistic," she said. "The BID has done great, wonderful things, and people do appreciate what we've done."